A woman receives a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at Discovery vaccination site in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Dec 15, 2021. (LUCA SOLA / AFP)
BRUSSELS / JOHANNESBURG / LJUBLJANA / NICOSIA / SANTIAGO / STOCKHOLM / TALLINN / WASHINGTON – About 100,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine are at risk of being destroyed by the end of this month due to slow uptake by citizens, South African health authorities said on Friday.
South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent, however inoculations have slowed and the country has ample vaccine stocks of about 25 million doses.
"There is a risk that just over 100,000 or so doses which will expire by end of March … may have to be discarded. It will be a sad day if significant volumes of doses can end up being discarded. We hope it will not reach that stage," Health Minister Joe Phaahla told an online news conference.
He said the department was trying to ramp up inoculations to save the vaccine doses from being discarded. South Africa has so far fully vaccinated around 43 percent of its 40 million adults.
South Africa's vaccination campaign, using the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines, got off to a slow start due to difficulties securing early supplies but more recently it has been dogged by hesitancy. Last month the country changed its COVID-19 vaccination rules in an effort to encourage more people to get jabs.
Chile
Chile on Thursday registered 23,395 new COVID-19 infections and 272 deaths in 24 hours, raising the national caseload to 3,122,802 and the pandemic death toll to 42,683, the Health Ministry said.
The COVID-19 positivity rate for the 24-hour period was 21.8 percent nationwide and 16 percent in the Santiago Metropolitan Region.
The South American country had 91,035 active cases, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, COVID-19 cases dropped 20 percent in seven days, and the country's 16 regions saw a decline in the number of new cases.
Cyprus
Citing a "steady and clear improvement" of the epidemiological situation in Cyprus, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas said on Thursday that most of the COVID-19 measures affecting everyday life will be relaxed as of March 8.
He said a Safe Pass will no longer be required to enter so-called "short-stay" premises, such as supermarkets, department stores, retail shops, pharmacies, small retail businesses or bakeries.
The mandatory quarantine for infected people will also be shortened from ten to seven days after a negative rapid or PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test result, he said.
The country's various premises will be classified into high, medium and low risk venues, and "short-stay" areas, with different requirements for each category.
Those wishing to enter high-risk areas, mainly dance halls, will be required to present negative test result taken within the previous two days for vaccinated people and within 24 hours for the unvaccinated.
The new rules will enter into force on March 8, one day after Green Monday (the beginning of the Lenten period) on March 7 and two days after Carnival Sunday on March 6, when people in Cyprus traditionally come together in large numbers.
European Medicines Agency
The European Medicines Agency said on Thursday it has authorized Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for children aged 6 to 11
The European Medicines Agency said on Thursday it has authorized Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for children aged 6 to 11.
Marco Cavaleri, EMA's Head of Biological Health Threats and Vaccines Strategy, said at a press briefing that younger children will be given half the dose given to older children and adults.
He said research showed young children had an immune response comparable to that seen in older populations, as measured by the level of neutralizing antibodies against the coronavirus.
Cavaleri said the Moderna shot was also being recommended for use as a booster dose in people who had received other vaccines.
Children had previously been given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which was the only vaccine EMA had approved for children aged five and over.
The EMA also on Thursday recommended booster shots of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for those aged 12 and over.
Cavaleri said data from countries, including Israel and the United States, covering over 400,000 children showed that a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in children aged 12 and over was "safe and effective."
Estonia
Estonian President Alar Karis said on Thursday that he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
"I took a PCR COVID test yesterday that turned out to be positive," Karis wrote on his social media account.
"I will self-isolate until recovery, and will continue work virtually using e-Estonia solutions. I have mild cold-like symptoms, but I feel fine overall. I have been vaccinated three times. Stay healthy!" said Karis.
Karis said people he had been in contact with during the past few days had been informed of his positive PCR test result.
He called on people to "take care of yourselves, and follow all precautions to avoid being infected."
Slovenia
Slovenia will from Monday abolish its mask mandate in schools, which has been in place for over a year to help curb the COVID-19 epidemic.
"Regarding the epidemiological situation the conditions are relatively favorable. … In line with that … we have decided that pupils, students and teachers will be exempt from wearing face masks in schools," Health Minister Janez Poklukar told a news conference after a government meeting.
The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Slovenia fell to 1,823 on Wednesday, from 2,359 a week before. This was well below the all-time high of 24,247 cases reported on Feb 1, the National Institute of Public Health reported on Thursday.
Slovenia began easing its COVID-19 restrictions on Feb 19, so that no certificates are needed to cross its border, or to enter most indoor public spaces. However, face masks are still obligatory in most indoor public places.
The government is still advising people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and so far 58 percent of Slovenians have been fully vaccinated.
Sweden
COVID-19 cases in Sweden are falling sharply, the country's health agency said on Thursday, even as nearly all pandemic-related restrictions were lifted less than a month ago.
The government removed curbs on restaurant opening hours and attendance limits for indoor venues on Feb 9, in a move that drew criticism from scientists at the time.
The number of cases is difficult to assess in Sweden given reduced testing, but the proportion of positive cases and the number of patients requiring hospital care have both declined.
ALSO READ: Virus: Sweden doesn't advocate jabs for kids under 12
The number of patients requiring intensive care was 53 on Thursday, down 24 from last week, while the total number reuiring care fell to 1,300 from about 1,600.
The AMC Empire 25 theater reopens after COVID-19 closures, March 5, 2021, in New York. (EVAN AGOSTINI / INVISION / AP)
The United States
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said some 93 percent of the US population live in locations where COVID-19 levels are low enough that people do not need to wear masks indoors.
On Friday, the CDC dramatically eased its COVID-19 guidelines for when Americans should wear masks indoors, saying they could drop them in counties experiencing what it described as low or medium COVID-19 levels.
The latest figures are an increase from just a week ago, a further indication that COVID hospitalizations – a key benchmark for the new masking recommendations – continue to fall.
When it announced the revised guidelines, the CDC said about 70 percent of US counties and 72 percent of the US population were in communities where indoor face coverings are no longer recommended. The CDC plans to update its county ratings weekly.
Still to be determined is whether the Biden administration will extend mask requirements for transit hubs and on airplanes, trains and buses. The current transit mask order expires on March 18 but could be extended. The White House said this week the issue is being evaluated.
The masking guidelines announced last week shifted from a focus on the rate of COVID-19 transmission to local hospitalizations, hospital capacity and infection rates.
Under the prior guidelines, 95 percent of US counties were considered to be experiencing high transmission, leaving just 5 percent of US counties under the agency's recommendation for abandoning indoor mask requirements.
